1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the general field of fireplaces, and more particularly in the field of fireplaces wherein auxiliary heating chambers are provided within the fireplace, particularly above the combustion chamber, wherein one chamber receives cool air and expells hot air to various portions of the building as desired, and the second chamber heats incoming cold water through a series of tubular configurations and expels hot water to various portions of a building. The first chamber is also provided with a means for injecting water to be changed into steam and thereby brought into the various parts of the building for purposes of keeping the air humid to a desired level.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been many advances over the past several years in the field of fireplace arrangements wherein efforts are made to capture heat which is otherwise lost by going up the chimney, or is not effectively directed where it can be used for maximum heating purposes. All these devices encompass metal shelves, or the like, which are utilized to draw in cold air and expel heated air by reason of heat generated adjacent said shelves in the fireplace.
A number of such devices are on the market, and it would be difficult to describe them all. All, however, work on basically the same principle.
In the case of the present invention, a different theory is utilized wherein a pair of overlapping partitions are used within the throat of the chimney above the combustion chamber and are placed in such a manner so as to heat a supply of incoming air into the lower chamber, and to heat a supply of incoming water through a series of pipe coils placed atop the upper shelf. Also, provisions are made for adjusting the size of the fireplace throat at the level of the upper shelf by means of a damper actuated from the outside of the fireplace. The present invention has within it the capability of humidifying the heated air which can be drawn in from the heated building and is again reheated and compensated with moisture to fulfill the depeated humidity in the air through this second process.